[ddc] everything you ever dream [alyson]

It was sunny.

After three days of thunderstorms and rain, it was finally sunny. For the first time in about three weeks, Aaron had finally felt as if the summer season was back. Seattle weather had always been finicky. One day it was raining, the next it was sunny; one morning it was thundering and by the afternoon it was almost all dried up. Aaron constantly complained about the weather, as though he would actually like to be away from it. When it came down to it, Aaron had to admit he loved the rain.

For the first time ever, Aaron was having a wizarding friend over to his humble abode. Not only any wizarding friend, but Alyson Graves, with the hair like silk and a smile like a ray of sunshine. Once his parents had heard that she didn't have a family other than her sister, they'd made sure Aaron was going to invite them over at least once over the summer. Aaron was sure the Perez house would be open to them all year round if they'd asked, no doubt. His parents were the type to give, give, give. There were no complaints from the sixteen year old, however.

Aaron hiked through the woods, to his favorite clearing that he and his family used to visit when he was young. If there was one thing he'd wanted the New York girl to experience, it was an authentic hiking and camping experience. "This is where me and my family used to come." He explained to Aly, turning to face her slightly. "We used to take uhh... a trailer to other sites, but my dad found this one and fell in love. So we've been going here for a while. I like it, it's pretty cool." He said.

"It's... it's a bit of a hike, we still have a bit longer to go, but you can just let me know if you get tired and we can take a break."

@Alyson Graves  <333

Annie had elected to stay in New York. That was fine, though. Alyson liked Aaron. They had some similar interests -- theatre, especially, which was not an interest that her sister or that many other people shared. She was glad they went to a school that had clubs to afford them such experiences, and she was also glad to have been to some shows in the city this summer. Even though it was no-maj theatre, she'd grown up in that kind of environment and really enjoyed watching no-maj productions anyway. On Broadway, with all of the no-maj celebrities with no-maj money and no-maj everything. It was all kind of humbling. Maybe she could convince Aaron that they needed to go see some indie band in downtown Seattle later on that week, but for now, they were going on a hike!

Alyson enjoyed hikes because they made her feel small. Not in the bad way, though, kind of just... in a way that made her realize how big the world really was and how many possibilities and paths there were for one to take. She knew she wasn't anything special, but she existed, and that had to mean something, right?

Before this she hadn't been to the West Coast. It was something else, alright. Much different from the east. Hilly highlands and rain versus concrete cultures and smog were two completely different animals, and she had to say that it was figuratively -- and literally -- a breath of fresh air. She had a generic Jansport backpack slung over her shoulders and some ratty hiking boots on she'd managed to snag from Goodwill for a few dollars, and some off-brand thermal jacket that was a little baggy, but still good, and that was good enough. She didn't need much. Alyson wasn't a particularly vain person. If it worked, that was fine.

"This is awesome," She said breathlessly to her friend, reaching up to tighten the long ponytail that was sagging back down to the middle of her head after a couple hours of hiking through the woods to a higher altitude. "I think I'm okay. Maybe a water break, and we'll be okay?" Aly smiled at him and pulled a metal canteen from her backpack to take a drink from. "What've you got planned for the rest of the week? I'm curious. I'm a stranger to these parts, you know."